The Soul of a Duelist
by Blaze626
Summary: Ten years after Judai's adventures, a shy boy named Ryouta Kaito enrolls in Duel Academy. A monster spirit Kaito befriends gives him more confidence. Kaito encounters friends and rivals in his adventures, but there are fatal duels he will have to face.
1. Card of Confidence

**I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX!**

Note: Throughout this fic, I will be using Japanese names. (Ex: In the name of my OC, Ryouta Kaito, Ryouta is the surname, and people do not call him by that name. It may be a little confusing for some who know very little about Japanese, but just bear with me.) I will also be using the Japanese names of some cards, if I think they sound better than the English names, and I'll call Slifer Red 'Osiris Red' instead. If I change the effect of a card, I'll let you know at the end of the chapter. I'll also list the descriptions of any new cards I put in a chapter at the end as well. **Please PM me if you want to borrow some of these card ideas. **But enough of all this, let's get to the fic!

Chapter 1: Card of Confidence

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"There! It's finished!"

It was the day before the entrance exams for Duel Academy (East Duel Academy to be exact), a high school for elite duelists. A blond teenage boy was sitting in his room looking through his deck. His name was Ryouta Kaito, and he just finished preparing his deck for the entrance examination. His hair was made up of hanging spikes, and its color turned darker towards the back. Despite the length of his hair, it didn't cover his hazel eyes. Kaito grabbed his Model 4 Duel Disk and deck, then bounded down the stairs, only to ram into a dark-haired girl.

"Hey, watch where you're going, Kai!" she said with a frown.

This girl was Kaito's sister, Miyu. Her light brown hair fell over and past her shoulders. She was roughly a year older than Kaito, and this would be her second year at Duel Academy.

"Sorry, sis," he said quietly.

Kaito wasn't really big on the whole confidence and excitement thing like the past protagonist, Yuki Judai, was. He was the shy, quiet type. Even though Kaito didn't know it, what would happen to him next would change all that.

Miyu just walked off to where she was going. Her father walked past her and up to Kaito.

"Son, I know tomorrow is an important day for you, so I decided to give you a little gift. A good luck charm, so to speak."

Kaito got a look of perplexity on his face. _"Dad doesn't usually do this kind of stuff or act like this," _he thought to himself.

His father reached into his pocket, and pulled out a card.

"I want you to have this card," he told Kaito, stretching out his arm to hand it to him. "I recently ran into a man who went by the name of Yuki Judai. I told him you were getting ready to take the entrance exams for Duel Academy, and it turns out he was a student there himself! He handed me this card, telling me to give it to you. Judai wishes you the best of luck."

When Kaito took the card, he looked down at it. It was a rather peculiar card.

"Wow! Thanks a ton, Dad!" Kaito exclaimed as his face lit up with excitement.

"I'm glad you like it, son," his dad replied with a smile.

Kaito walked over towards the front door.

"I'm going to Isamu's place now," Kaito called to his father, "See ya!" But before he walked out the door, he stopped as he remembered something else.

"Oh, and if you ever come across Yuki Judai again, tell him I said, 'Thank you'."

"Will do, Kaito."

Kaito opened the door and was about to walk outside, but he stopped again. But this time it was because he saw someone running up to his house. This person was Kaito's friend, Ito Isamu. He was a little short for a teenager, but he had a large bundle of spiky dark green hair, and thin black spikes (similar to Yugi's) hanging on the front layer of his hair. Not to mention, he also had a fairly large ego.

"I didn't expect to see you here," Kaito said in surprise, " I was just about to walk over to your house to duel you with my finished deck!"

"That's exactly why I'm here! So how 'bout it? You and me duel right here! So we can test our decks out for the entrance exams!"

"You've got it! But, uh, how 'bout we go out back so we don't crowd up the sidewalk?"

"Sure, whatever." Isamu shrugged.

When they reached their 'duel field', they each took out their disks and placed their decks in them.

"Activate Duel Disk!" they both shouted as they turned them on. Kaito's was a sleek, silvery blue disk, while Isamu's Model 2 Duel Disk wasn't as modern. The Life Point counters were set at max, they each drew a hand of five cards, and the duel began.

Kaito: 8000

Isamu: 8000

"I don't know why you use that old disk, Isamu."

"It's just that its the first Duel Disk I ever had, so I kept it. Now let's get back to the primary subject. Mind if I start?" Isamu asked.

"Sure, go ahead," Kaito said with a gesture of his hand.

"Alright! Get ready!" he shouted as he drew his sixth card. He placed it into his hand and selected another card. "I'll set a monster," Isamu declared as he placed the card on his Duel Disk face-down, "And that's all."

"That's it, huh? I wasn't expecting such a minor move," Kaito said as he drew a card from his deck.

"Oh, you won't think it's minor soon enough." Isamu smirked.

"We'll see about that." Kaito scanned his hand. "Um..." After thinking for a while, he selected a monster, and placed it on his disk. "I summon Galactic Being Aquarius Wave in Attack Mode!" (1700/1200) As he declared this summoning and slapped the card on his disk, a swirling tower of water shot up from the card's hologram on the field. When the water subsided, a muscular monster in an aqua blue and purple suit appeared. It had a large fin on its head and on other various parts of its body. The galactic monster struck a fighting pose.

"I see you've changed your deck," Isamu pointed out, "So your monsters are based on constellations? Interesting."

"That's right! And I've got plenty more of them in this deck!" Kaito then thought to himself, _"Now let's see. I have no idea of what that face-down monster is. But there's no point in never attacking it, so I might as well." _"Aquarius, attack that face-down monster!" At Kaito's command, Aquarius waved his arms back and forth slowly. Water balls started appearing on his hands, and Aquarius swiftly threw them at the unseen monster. When they came in contact with it, the card flipped up to reveal a small silver-armored alien type of monster with bulging red eyes. (300/800) As the monster was shattered, a veiny bulge appeared on the Aquarius Wave's arm.

"What the heck just happened?" Kaito exclaimed in confusion.

"The monster Aquarius just destroyed was Alien Grey," his friend explained, "Since it was flipped up before it was destroyed, I got to place an A-Counter on your monster."

"And what exactly does an A-Counter do?"

Isamu smirked again. "You'll see, Kaito. Now, since Alien Grey was destroyed after it was flipped, I get to draw a card." Isamu slid a card off the top of his deck, and grinned when he saw it. _"Perfect! This card will really help." _

_"So Isamu's changed his deck, too," _Kaito thought, "_I've never seen these kind of monsters before, so I don't know what to expect."_

"Are you gonna make a move or what?" Isamu was fed up with waiting for Kaito.

"Oh, sorry." Kaito snapped back to reality and looked at the rest of his hand. "I'll place two cards face-down!" Two brown-backed cards appeared behind Aquarius, who barely even noticed them. "It's your turn," Kaito said with a gesture of his hand.

"About time!" Isamu said as he drew his card, which brought him up to seven cards in his hand. He then instantly summoned a monster. "I play Alien Hunter in Attack Position!" (1600/800) A vicious and somewhat reptilian warrior with black armor emerged from its card. The alien bore a trident spear and had blue spherical jewels on its chest armor.

"Sorry, but that monster is 101 points short of being able to destroy Aquarius in battle." Kaito pointed out.

"Don't be so quick to judge," Isamu said while waving his finger. "Now, Alien Hunter, attack his Galactic Being!" The warrior leaped up into the air and thrust its spear at its target. Just before the spear made contact with Kaito's monster, Aquarius's ATK points decreased. (1700/1200 - 1400/1200) But when it did make contact, Aquarius was blown back, and then destroyed.

Kaito: 7800

Isamu: 8000

"Why'd my monster's Attack Points decrease by 300?" Kaito asked in astonishment.

"You see," Isamu explained, "each A-Counter a monster has on it decreases its Attack by 300 whenever it battles with an Alien monster, such as my Hunter. But I have something else to tell you. If Alien Hunter destroys a monster with an A-Counter on it in battle, it can attack again!"

"Not so fast! Your Hunter's not the only one with an effect! When Aquarius is destroyed in battle, I can summon a Galactic Being from my deck as long as it's Attack is 1500 or lower." Kaito then looked through his deck for the right monster to summon. "This should work. I summon Galactic Being Corona South in Defense Mode!" (900/2000) A crowned shadowy figure wearing a purple kingly cape came forth and crouched defensively. It bore a silver scepter with a misty purple gem at the head.

"My Hunter isn't strong enough to take that thing out, so I'll end my Battle Phase. Now I'll activate "A" Cell Cultivation Device!" Isamu slid the card into a Spell/Trap Card slot on his Duel Disk. "This card-"

"Hold on there! I activate my Trap Card!" Kaito pressed a button on his disk to activate the card. "Go! Magic Jammer! With this card, I can discard a card from my hand to negate that card's effect and destroy it!" He discarded a card from his hand and pointed at Isamu's Spell Card as it shattered. "Goodbye, A Cell...um...well whatever. It doesn't matter."

"No matter. I'll just place two cards face-down." Two face-down card holograms appeared behind Alien Hunter. "And with that, I'll end my turn."

Kaito drew his card and looked at his hand. _"That monster shouldn't be too hard to destroy. 1600 Attack Points isn't much to match." _He then discovered that none of the monsters in his hand were strong enough. _"Darn! Well, at least I can stall with some defense." _Kaito then saw something flashing out of the corner of his eye. It was coming from his Graveyard slot. "Oh yeah! Since I discarded Galactic Being Phoenix Blaze when I played Magic Jammer, I can use its effect to summon it to the field."

The card popped out of the Graveyard slot and Kaito took it. He placed it on his Duel Disk. When he did, a flaming bird-like creature appeared on the field in a large blaze of fire. (1500/1300) "The catch is that I can't Normal Summon a monster this turn. But I don't need to."

"Why's that?"

"Just watch!" Kaito took a Spell Card from his hand and slid it into a slot in his disk. "I activate Polymerization!" A huge vortex appeared behind the 2 monsters on Kaito's field. "And the monsters I'm gonna fuse are the King of the Swamp in my hand and my Phoenix Blaze on the field!" Kaito placed the 2 cards in his Graveyard, and Phoenix Blaze and King of the Swamp, which was basically a humanoid form made out of swamp water, got sucked into the vortex. But King of the Swamp seemed to shift form into a werewolf creature before it was fused with the other monster. "Did I mention that King of the Swamp can act as a substitute for a Fusion Material Monster? Such as Galactic Being Lupus Beast."

Out of the vortex emerged a werewolf creature with a flaming tail, vicious red eyes, and flames on its wrists and ankles. "Say hello to Galactic Being Lupus Wildfire!" (2400/1300) The creature howled as all the flames on its body blazed with fury.

Isamu winced at the sight of such a powerful monster summoned only on his second turn.

"And Wildfire gains 300 Attack for each monster on the field except himself!" (2400/1300 - 3000/1300) "Now, attack with Flare Slash!" As he declared the attack Lupus rushed towards the alien, preparing to strike.

"Before you attack, I'd like to activate a little Trap Card." The face-down card revealed itself and flashed. "It's called Crop Circles! It lets me sacrifice as many monsters as I want, then summon an Alien monster from my deck with a Level equal to the total Level of the sacrificed monsters! And since Hunter is Level 4, I can summon a Level 4 monster." Alien Hunter disappeared in a flash of light, and Isamu scanned his deck. "Perfect! I summon Alien Warrior!" (1800/1000) A beast even more vicious than the last alien took its place. This monster had silver armor just as Alien Grey did, but this one also had huge claws just as big as those of Lupus Wildfire. It roared angrily at Lupus before it was struck by its flaring claws and shattered out of existence. (3000/1300 - 2700/1300)

Kaito: 7800

Isamu: 6800

"Sure you may have saved a few Life Points by that move, but...Huh? Not more A-Counters!" Kaito realized his mistake as he saw 2 A-Counters appear on Lupus Wildfire.

"Yes, more! When Alien Warrior is destroyed in battle, the monster that destroyed it gets 2 A-Counters placed on it. And that's not all!" Isamu revealed his second face-down card. "I activate Damage Condenser! When I take battle damage, I can summon a monster from my deck with Attack Points equal to or lower than the damage I just took!"

"That's why you summoned it in Attack Mode. Well, at least any monster you summon can't stand up to my Wildfire. Even after the Attack Point decrease from your A-Counters."

"You're right about that, but I have something else planned. I summon Alien Mars!" (1000/1000) A strange alien with three tentacles was summoned. It had red spherical gems on its forehead and armor and stared at Wildfire with glowing green eyes. The A-Counters on Wildfire also started to glow green, and its Attack decreased back to its original amount. (2700/1300 - 2400/1300)

"What the heck is going on? Lupus should've _gained _Attack Points!"

"It's the special effect of Alien Mars." Isamu got a smug look on his face. "It cancels out any effects of monsters with A-Counters on them, except for Alien Mars, that is."

Kaito frowned. _"Damn it! Every time I try to make a comeback, he finds some way to stop me! I hope this card will help." _"I'll just set one card face-down and end my turn." Another face-down card shimmered onto the field next to the previous one as Kaito gestured for Isamu to make his move.

"My draw!" He called out as he clasped the top card of his deck and put it in his hand. "Excellent! I summon Alien Shocktrooper!" (1900/800) A green, muscular, four-legged (similar to a centaur) warrior equipped with a sword suddenly appeared on the field. Its feet were webbed and its armor was black. "Now, attack his Wildfire!" (2400/1300 - 1800/1300)

"I activate my Trap!" Kaito declared. Just then, a black vortex appeared behind Lupus Wildfire, and it jumped into it.

"Where did it go?" Isamu wondered.

"This Trap Card is called Spacial Warp. It removes one of my Galactic Beings from play..." Kaito explained as he placed the card in his pocket, "...then I get to summon a Galactic Being from my deck with Attack Points equal to or lower than the Attack of the monster I removed." Kaito searched through his deck. After several seconds, he found the card he needed and summoned it to the field. "I summon Galactic Being Corona North in Attack Mode!" (1900/1000) This monster was similar in appearance to Corona South, except its body was shining brightly, its cape and jewel were red, and its scepter was golden.

"Well, I don't want to destroy my Shocktrooper, so I'll place 2 cards face-down, switch Mars to Defense Mode, and end my turn." Two face-down cards materialized behind Alien Mars, who crouched and held up its tentacles in a defensive state.

_"Okay. I have no cards in my hand, so I need a miracle if I want to win this duel. It's not really that important, but I want to know if my deck is strong enough for the entrance duel." _Kaito drew his card, hoping it would be help him in some way. He glanced at the card and grinned. "I activate Pot of Greed!" A green, yellow-toothed grinning pot appeared next to Kaito. "I'm sure you know this lets me draw 2 cards from my deck." Kaito took his cards, and the pot faded away. Kaito smirked when he saw the cards he drew. "Say goodbye to your Alien Shocktrooper, because I summon Galactic Being Lupus Beast!" (2000/1000) As he slammed the card on his disk, a black-furred werewolf creature appeared on the field next to Corona North. Its eyes were a menacing blood-red color. Lupus snarled and took a ready position. "In case you're wondering what the catch is for a Level 4 2000 Attack monster, he's the only monster that can attack as long as you don't have any Spell or Trap Cards on your field, and last I checked, you do!" Kaito declared, pointing to the 2 face-down cards Isamu set last turn.

Isamu smirked yet again. "Not that it matters anyway because I activate Compulsory Evacuation Device! This card returns one monster on the field to its owner's hand! And I choose your Lupus Beast!" As Isamu pointed toward the monster that he selected, he noticed the jewel on Corona South's staff glowing brightly and also that his Trap Card shattered in pieces.

Isamu grimaced. "Darn it! What happened?"

"You see, as long as Corona North is on the field, Corona South negates the effects of any of your Trap Cards that target my Level 4 or lower Galactic Beings. And Lupus and your Trap's targeting effect fit the bill! Now, Lupus Beast, attack Alien Shocktrooper with Full Moon Slash!" Just as Wildfire did, Lupus charged forward and struck Shocktrooper with its razor sharp claws, causing it to screech eerily in pain and then shatter. Although the attack only did an insignificant amount of damage.

Kaito: 7800

Isamu: 6700

"Next, I'll have Corona North attack Alien Mars! Royal Radiance!" The luminous being released a huge flash of light from its scepter, destroying Isamu's last defense.

Kaito: 7800

Isamu: 5800

_"Damn! I'm almost out of cards on the field, and I have none in my hand!" _Isamu thought to himself.

"Lastly, I'll set a card face-down. And with that, I'll end my turn. I hope you can stand up to this, Isamu!"

"Trust me," Isamu said as he drew his card, "I do, too." Isamu smiled when he saw the card he drew. "Good! I activate Card of Sanctity!" Golden coins started falling from the sky. "What this does is let us each draw until we have 6 cards in our hands." Kaito and Isamu each drew 6 cards, completely replenishing them.

Kaito saw one of the cards he drew, and recognized it. _"It's the card my dad gave me! Let's see if it's really good luck."_

"Yes! First I play Attacking the Defenseless! This card destroys the monster on your field with the lowest Defense!

"Corona North has an effect that negates targeting Spell Cards on Level 4 or higher Galactic Beings, but that card doesn't target. Does it?"

"Nope! Since your Lupus Beast and Corona North are tied for the lowest Defense, I'll choose to destroy Lupus!"

A spear shot out of the card Isamu played, and it collided right with Lupus's gut. This caused it to howl in pain until it was destroyed. Kaito flinched and frowned. "Next, I activate Cosmic Reproduction! I can only play this when all my monsters were destroyed in battle last turn. It lets me Special Summon an Alien monster from my deck whose Attack is 1000 or less. And I choose a second Alien Mars!" Isamu looked through his deck for Alien Mars until he came across it and slapped it on his Duel Disk. (1000/1000) The familiar alien with tentacles came forth for the second time in the duel.

"I'll also chain a Quick-Play Spell to its summon. I play Raging Summoning of Hell! I can only activate this when I Special Summon a monster of 1500 Attack or less. This lets me summon all other copies I have of this card from my hand, deck, or Graveyard! It also lets you choose a monster to do the same thing to. Only there's no Attack Point limit to the monster you choose."

"Alright, then. I choose Corona North! Except I only have 2 copies of him, so I'll just summon 1 other one from my deck."

They each looked through their decks and selected the cards they would summon, but Isamu also picked out the other Alien Mars in his Graveyard. Two more Alien Mars monsters were summoned next to the first one, and another Corona North appeared beside its identical ally. (1000/1000)x2 (1900/1000)

"Well, in response to your Special Summon, Isamu, I activate Triggered Summon!" Kaito revealed one of his face-down cards. "Now we each get to summon a Level 4 or lower monster from our hands! And I choose a little friend of mine that my dad gave me. Say hello to Star Cocoon!" (300/500) This small monster was a radiant ball with big and hollow black eyes. Behind the ball was a yellow glowing star, and the monster was surrounded by a translucent shell. (900/2000 - 1300/2300) (1900/1000 - 2300/1300)x2 "Oh yeah! I forgot to mention that it increases the Attack of all Galactic Beings by 400 and their Defense by 300. What are you going to summon?"

"Nothing. I, unfortunately, have no Level 4 or lower monster in my hand. But I do have this..." Isamu grinned and placed a Spell Card in his disk. "...Hell Alliance!" The center Alien Mars started glowing red. "This Equip Card increases the Attack of the monster it's equipped to by 800 for each other monster on the field with the same name as it!" (1000/1000 - 2600/1000) The powered up Alien Mars started growing twice its size. "There's no way you can beat me! Alien Mars, destroy his Corona North!" The alien let out a beam of cosmic energy from the gem on its forehead, which was about to destroy Kaito's Galactic Being.

_"He's right! Now there's no way I can win, even with all these Life Points! I might as well just surrender now." _Kaito suddenly heard a mysterious voice coming from a card on his Duel Disk. _"Coo...coo...cooo." "What was that? I felt something inside me." "Cooo...coo." _Kaito looked at Star Cocoon on the field and realized that was where the sound was coming from. _"Could that monster be telling me something?" "Coo...coo...coo." "Strange. I actually understand it. It's saying I should put more confidence in myself. That I can win! He's right!" _Kaito saw that he had one more face-down card left. _"That's right! The Trap Card I set at the beginning of the duel!"_

"Not only am I going to stop your attack, Isamu. I'm also going to destroy all of your monsters!"

"How will you do that?"

"With this!" Kaito pressed the button that activated his last face-down. "Radiant Mirror Force! When you have 3 or more monsters on the field, it stops your attack and destroys all of your Attack Position monsters!"

"What? No! Mars, stop!"

"It's too late, Isamu!" Just as the name of the card suggests, a radiant barrier reflected the cosmic energy, which blasted all of Isamu's monsters away.

_"Darn it! At least I still have this Mirror Force. It'll do the exact same thing that he did to me!" _"I place one card face-down! Then I end my turn."

Kaito drew his card to start his turn. _"Alright! This duel ends here and now!" _"Get ready to lose, Isamu! But before I attack, I'll play this to destroy all Spell and Trap Cards out. Heavy Storm!" A dangerous storm whipped up, with high winds that blew away Isamu's 2 Trap Cards.

"No way! There goes my back-up plan." The storm then subsided. Isamu sighed. "Just finish me off."

"Before I do, I'll switch Corona South into Attack Mode." The shadowed figure stood up and was ready to attack. "It's been a fun duel, bud. Now, Galactic Beings, attack directly!" The jewels on the three royal beings' scepters all glowed with powerful energy, which was then fired towards Isamu for the win. The impact caused him to fly backward several feet.

Kaito: 7800

Isamu: 0

Kaito walked up to his friend and held out his hand to help him up. "You OK, Isamu?"

"Actually, I've never been better." Kaito helped Isamu get up. "That was the most awesome duel I've ever had! Thanks for giving me all you've got!"

"You know, Isamu, I think that duel actually boosted my confidence a little."

Isamu smiled. "That's great, Kai! See ya later!" Isamu turned around and walked home as the sun set.

Kaito looked down at the card he was holding, Star Cocoon. _"It's all thanks to you! You're not just a good luck charm. You're also a friend."_

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New Cards Played:

G-Being Aquarius Wave, G-Being Phoenix Blaze, G-Being Lupus Beast, G-Being Lupus Wildfire, G-Being Corona North, G-Being Corona South, Star Cocoon, Spacial Warp, Attacking the Defenseless

Galactic Being Aquarius Wave  
Water  
Level 4  
[Aqua/Effect  
When this card is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard as a result of battle, you can Special Summon 1 "Galactic Being" monster with an ATK of 1500 or less from your Deck. Then shuffle your Deck.  
ATK/1700  
DEF/1200

Galactic Being Phoenix Blaze  
Fire  
Level 4  
[Winged-Beast/Effect  
Once per turn, during your Main Phase, while this card is in your Graveyard, you can Special Summon it. You cannot Normal Summon or Set during this turn if you use this effect.  
ATK/1500  
DEF/1300

Galactic Being Lupus Beast  
Dark  
Level 4  
[Beast/Effect  
If there are no Spell or Trap Cards on your opponent's side of the field, this card is the only monster that can attack this turn. If this card has attacks while there are Spell or Trap Cards on your opponent's side of the field, and there are no Spell or Trap Cards on your opponent's side of the field after the Damage Step of this card's attack, then ignore the first effect of this card for the rest of this turn.  
ATK/2000  
DEF/1000

Galactic Being Corona North  
Light  
Level 4  
[Warrior/Effect  
While there is at least 1 face-up "Galactic Being Corona South" on your side of the field, negate the activation and effects of your opponent's Spell Cards targeting any "Galactic Being" monsters of Level 4 or higher on your side of the field and destroy the Spell Card.  
ATK/1900  
DEF/1000

Galactic Being Corona South  
Dark  
Level 4  
[Warrior/Effect  
While there is at least 1 face-up "Galactic Being Corona North" on your side of the field, negate the activation and effects of your opponent's Trap Cards targeting any "Galactic Being" monsters of Level 4 or lower on your side of the field and destroy the Trap Card.  
ATK/900  
DEF/2000

Star Cocoon  
Light  
Level 2  
[Fairy/Effect  
As long as there is at least 1 "Galactic Being" monster on your side of the field, this card cannot be destroyed as a result of battle. As long as this card remains face-up on the field, increase the ATK of all "Galactic Being" monsters by 400 and their DEF by 300. ATK/300  
DEF/500

Galactic Being Lupus Wildfire  
Fire  
Level 6  
[Beast/Fusion/Effect  
"Galactic Being Lupus Beast" + "Galactic Being Phoenix Blaze" This card cannot be Special Summoned except by Fusion Summon. Increase the ATK of this card by 300 points for each monster on the field except this card.  
ATK/2400  
DEF/1300

Spacial Warp  
[Normal Trap  
Remove 1 "Galactic Being" monster on your side of the field from play. Then Special Summon 1 "Galactic Being" monster from your deck whose ATK is equal to or lower than that of the removed monster. When the monster Special Summoned from this effect is destroyed as a result of battle, Special Summon the monster that was removed from play by this card's effect.

Attacking the Defenseless  
[Normal Spell  
Destroy 1 face-up monster with the lowest DEF on your opponent's side of the field. (If it's a tie, you get to choose.)

Card Effect Changes: I used Card of Sanctity's anime effect.

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Isamu doesn't have much trouble with the entrance test, while Kaito knows he flunked it. So he'll have to make up for that by acing his exam duel. His opponent, Katsura Hachiro, head of the Osiris Red dorm, is using a Normalcy Beatdown exam deck. Going up against cards that only benefit Normal Monsters, while Kaito has only Effect Monsters, he is going to have to find a way to win this duel with ease. Or else, he probably won't get into the academy. Next time, "Normalcy Beatdown"!


	2. Normalcy Beatdown

Note: Sorry if the duel is a little short. I didn't think it would end that fast. Well, I can't think of anything else to say, so, let's continue with the fic!

Chapter 2: Normalcy Beatdown

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The sun was shining. There was a nice cool breeze. And not a single cloud was in the sky.

At least that's how Kaito wished it would've been like. It was extremely muggy on the day of the Duel Academy entrance exams. The rain was falling hard, and Kaito's shirt was stuck to his chest by the adhesiveness of the heat.

"Oh, why did it have to be like this on a such an important day?" the teenager complained as he trudged on the city sidewalk.

"Well, at least we're not late," his friend, Isamu, said in a more optimistic way. Kaito wasn't usually as optimistic as he was.

"I guess you're right. It's just a couple of blocks away."

"Oh, I'm so excited! I just know I'll pass the written and duel exams."

Kaito sighed as he thought about how he'd do on the exams. "I just know I'll flunk the written part just like I do on almost every test I've ever had." He turned his head to face Isamu. "How can you be so sure you're gonna ace the duel?"

"Because I'm determined to win! You just need a little confidence, that's all."

He agreed with Isamu again, "Yeah, you're right. I can totally win!"

Isamu grinned. "That's the spirit!"

When they finished their conversation, the friends noticed the huge domed building towering in front of them.

"This is the place!"

------------------------------------------------------------------------

The enormous room was filled with hundreds of teenagers. Most of which were students in either red, yellow, or blue uniforms, who were watching from various levels of seats as the applicants dueled.

One of these students was Kaito's sister, Miyu. She was wearing a standard Obelisk Blue girl's uniform, which was a sleeveless white and blue blazer and a blue skirt. Leaning on a railing next to her (on the top level) was a black-haired boy about the same age as Kaito. The teenager, known as Toru Katashi, had small glasses over his green eyes. Since he recently had his duel, he was not in any Duel Academy uniform.

"See any interesting duelists, Katashi?" Miyu asked.

"Well, some of 'em look like they could be a challenge for me, but not many," he replied, staring down at the current duels.

"I never saw your duel. How'd it go?"

Katashi shrugged, still watching the duels going on. "Meh, it was pretty easy."

"Have you ever heard of Takeda Kenji?"

This time, he turned to look at her. "No. Who is he?"

"He's a third year Obelisk Blue, and also the top duelist in the school, so I've heard last year."

"Well this guy definitely sounds interesting to me. I'd like to duel him sometime."

------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Man, that test was _hard_!" Kaito groaned as he walked over to a seat in the stands.

"It was a little difficult, but I'm sure I passed."

"A _little_?!" Kaito's eyes bulged out in shock. "I guessed on probably half the questions!"

"I'm sure you'll do great your duel, though! By the way, what number are you?"

"Let's see here." Kaito slipped a small paper out of his pocket. "I'm 63."

"In that case, I'm right after you." Isamu replied. "Well, actually there are multiple duel fields, so I might start while you're in the middle of your du-" He was interrupted by a voice coming from the speakers all over the room.

The man spoke in a monotone voice, **"Number 63, Ryouta Kaito, please report to Duel Field 4. I repeat, Ryouta Kaito, report to Duel Field 4."**

"Oh? My duel starts already? Well, I guess I'd better go, Isamu. Good luck with your duel." Kaito walked down the steps to the duel field.

"Good luck, Kaito!" Isamu called out. Kaito turned his head and gave him a thumbs up before continuing his walk to Duel Field 4.

When Kaito reached the field, he saw, across from him, a tall man with black short cut hair. He wore a red blazer, trimmed white, which flowed out at the lower back.

"Hello, young man," he said with a friendly smile, "My name is Professor Katsura Hachiro. I am the headmaster of the Osiris Red dorm."

A chill of nervousness was sent up Kaito's spine. "M-my name is Ryouta Kaito. Nice to meet you, Professor Katsura."

"I'll be your examiner for this duel. And for the duel I will be using an exam deck." The man placed the deck into his Model 4 Duel Disk. "Let's begin, shall we? Duel Disk, _on_!" the man declared as he activated his disk.

_"Well, I guess since he's using an exam deck, it'll be easier for me." _Kaito activated his Duel Disk as well. The two duelists drew their starting hands of 5 cards and the duel started.

Kaito: 8000  
Katsura: 8000

"The exam rules state that the applicant makes the first move."

"A-alright, then," replied a flustered Kaito, who drew his card. _"Okay, I've got to chill out. I can do this. It is just an exam deck after all." _He scanned the cards in his hand. "I'll set a monster and a place a card face-down." Two face down cards shimmered onto the field: a vertical one behind a horizontal one. "And that's it."

"Yes, I've seen starting moves like that plenty of times from my students," Katsura said as he drew a sixth card. The professor looked at the cards in his hand, trying to figure out what kind of exam deck this was. _"It appears to be a Normalcy deck. This should be interesting." _"I summon Luster Dragon to the field in Attack Mode!" (1900/1600) A stony sapphire dragon appeared in a flash of blue radiance. It stretched out its somewhat skeletal wings as it roared at its enemy. "Now, Luster Dragon, attack his face-down monster!" As he declared the attack, the dragon sped up into the sky and dove down to strike the unseen monster. It appeared to be a fierce eagle, which was hunched over defensively, after its card was flipped. (700/1850) The defending monster let out a screech before it was destroyed by the dragon's attack.

"That monster may have had a fairly high defense, but Luster Dragon had just enough attack power to destroy it."

"Well, I was hoping it wouldn't get destroyed, but now that it is, I'll activate this card to bring it back." Kaito pressed a button on his Duel Disk to activate the face-down card. "I play Call of the Haunted! This card lets me summon a monster from my Graveyard in Attack Mode!" A low rumble was heard for a moment, and then the eagle monster that Luster Dragon destroyed burst out of the ground and reappeared on the field. "And in case you couldn't tell, the monster I brought back was Galactic Being Aquila Strike!" (700/1850)

"Aquila is a constellation, no? That's a unique deck you have there, boy."

Kaito grinned. "Uh, thanks." The grin turned into a slight frown. "Oh, and my name's not boy, it's Kaito."

"Oh, sorry about that. It's kind of a habit. Anyway, to continue, I activate 2 Continuous Spell Cards." He slipped to cards into his disk. "The first is Two-Man Cell Battle. Now, during each of our End Phases, the person who ended their turn can summon a Level 4 Normal Monster from his hand."

_"Well, that sucks. I don't have a single Normal Monster in this deck. And he wouldn't play that card if he wasn't using a Normalcy deck, so it's only to his advantage!"_

"The second card is called Heart of the Underdog. Now if I draw a Normal Monster during my Draw Phase, I can show it to you and draw another card."

Kaito flinched. _"Oh, crap! This guy's gonna have major card advantage!"_

Up in the stands, Isamu was called out for his duel. "Oh, guess it's my turn. I hope Kaito can overcome the advantage that examiner just set up for himself." Isamu then walked down the steps to his duel.

Even higher in the stands, on the top level to be exact, Katashi was commenting on Kaito's duel. "So this kid's going up against a Normalcy Beatdown deck, huh?"

Miyu chimed in, "I wonder how Kaito will handle it."

"You know him?" Katashi questioned.

"Yeah, he's my little brother. But if I know him, he nearly flunked test, so he needs to ace this duel if he wants to get into the academy."

Down on the duel field, their duel continued. "And with that, I'll end my turn," Katsura said. The Two-Man Cell Battle card hologram started flashing. "Now, thanks to Cell Battle's effect, I can summon this." Katsura slapped a card onto his Duel Disk's Monster zone. "Vorse Raider!" (1900/1200) A fiendish, bloodthirsty warrior bearing an axe arose from its card. It had one horn protruding from its forehead and two from the sides of its head.

"How many 1900 Attack Point monsters do you have?" Kaito asked rhetorically. He drew a card, bringing his hand up to 5. _"At least he doesn't have any face-down cards." _"I activate Graceful Charity!" An angel appeared next to Kaito. "This lets me draw 3 cards. But I also have to discard 2." Kaito drew his cards, then selected 2 cards, which he handed to the angel. It placed the cards in his Graveyard slot, then disappeared, leaving bright sparkles behind. Kaito smirked at the cards he just drew. "Next, I'll summon Galactic Being Gemini Attack!" (1200/1800) The monster summoned was black clad fiend in futuristic blue armor. Gemini grinned impishly.

"Now for his effect. I can discard a Galactic Being from my hand to summon another Gemini from my hand or Deck." Kaito slid a card into his Graveyard, and then skimmed his deck. "Hero we go!" He slammed the card onto his disk, Gemini Attack started vibrating and creating a duplicate of itself. (1200/1800) "That's why he's called Gemini! You may be the one with the beatdown deck, but you'd better prepare yourself for this one! Because my three monsters have the ability to attack you directly. But my 2 Gemini need to halve their Attack in the Damage Step to do so. Now, Galactic Beings, attack Katsura directly!" (1200/1800 - 600/1800)x2 The twin monsters placed their hands together and unleashed a black stream of energy on the opponent. (600/1800 - 1200/1800) Aquila dashed straight forward and struck Katsura with its wing, then turned around and landed back where it was, switching to Defense Position.

Kaito: 8000  
Katsura: 6100

"Oh yeah. And after Aquila attacks you directly, I can switch it to Defense Mode."

"Pretty good move, Kaito. Although it would be better if you had something to defend your exposed Gemini monsters."

Kaito smiled. "Well, I just might, Professor. I place 2 cards face-down. And now, it's your turn. Unfortunately, I don't have any monsters to summon with Two-Man Cell Battle."

Katsura smirked. "That's exactly why these Normalcy decks are effective these days. Because almost every duelist uses mostly Effect Monsters."

"Who can blame 'em? I mean they are pretty great."

"Maybe so. Anyway, its my turn, so I'll draw my card." As he drew his card, Heart of the Underdog flashed, and Katsura showed Kaito the card he drew. "Gene-Warped Warwolf is a Normal Monster, so I get to draw another card." The card he drew next wasn't a Normal Monster, so he continued with his turn. "Remember the Normal Monster I drew? I think I'll summon it. Rise, Gene-Warped Warwolf!" (2000/100) The white, four-armed beast with long black hair on its back growled viciously as it came forth. The strange, genetically manipulated monster had various black markings all over its body. "And, yes, I meant to say 'war', not 'were'."

"Dude, how much has that monster been working out? I don't just mean its appearance, I'm also talking about its Attack stat. Even though it's got lousy Defense, it's a Level 4 monster

with 2000 Attack!"

"That's why it's in this beatdown deck. So, to continue, I think I'll place 2 cards face-down. Then, I'll get rid of one of yours with my Cyclone Spell Card!" Katsura slipped the Spell Card into his disk, and suddenly, a tornado whipped up onto the field. It sought out one of Kaito's face-

down cards and destroyed it. Afterwards, the tornado dissipated.

Kaito scowled. _"Dang! That was my Mirror Force!"_

"Now, I'll attack your 2 Gemini with my Warwolf and Vorse Raider, and then Aquila with Luster Dragon." The three monsters all charged and attacked, shattering all of Kaito's monsters.

Kaito: 6500  
Katsura: 6100

"Well, since you destroyed Gemini, I can activate my face-down, Spacial Summon!" Kaito revealed his card, and a black, starry vortex appeared in front of the card. "When one of my monsters is destroyed in battle, I can summon a Galactic Being with equal or fewer Attack Points from my Deck. So I choose Hydra Scale!" (1000/900) A blue sea-serpent with a line of purple fins on its back appeared on the field. It was surrounded by spiraling water.

"Good move, applicant. Now, seeing as I'm out of cards in my hand, I'll end my turn without summoning a monster."

_"Okay, I've just gotta remember Star Cocoon! If I have enough confidence, I can win this duel!" _Kaito drew a card, which brought him up to a mere 2 cards in his hand. Despite that and the fact that he was staring down 3 beatsticks, 2 face-downs, and 2 Continuous cards that gave Katsura a major advantage; Kaito smirked when he saw the card he just drew. "Looks like I'm about to make a comeback!"

"And why would that be?"

"Because of this Field Spell: Mystic Galaxy!" As Kaito slid the card into the Field Spell slot, the field around them suddenly became a vast star field. There were various constellations and planets spread all over.

"What in the world does this card do?"

Kaito grinned. "You'll find out soon enough."

Katsura frowned. "Hmph! Well, I'll chain to that by activating Skill Drain!"

Kaito: 6500  
Katsura: 5100

A yellow aura appeared around Hydra Scale for a few seconds, then dissipated. "It may cost 1000 Life Points, but Skill Drain negates the effects of all Effect Monsters, just in case your Hydra happens to have one."

"Well, I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but I'll play the Equip Spell, Miracle Scale!" Kaito placed the card into his Duel Disk, and suddenly, various scales on Hydra Scale's body glowed. "And I'll equip it to Galactic Being Hydra Scale. Now, when Hydra gets destroyed, I can destroy one Spell or Trap Card on the field and deal damage to you equal to half the Attack of the monster on the field with the highest Attack Points." The professor flinched after hearing this.

"So, Hydra Scale, attack Vorse Raider!" Even though it was weaker than Vorse Raider, Hydra Scale knew what Kaito's strategy would be, so it jetted a stream of water from its mouth, which bounced off of Vorse Raider's armor and destroyed Hydra. However, its glowing scales were left behind, and they shot at the Skill Drain card, blasting it to pieces. Kaito pointed his finger at his examiner. "And now, you take damage equal to half of Gene-Warped Warwolf's Attack Points!"

Kaito: 5600  
Katsura: 4100

"Also, since Skill Drain is gone, Hydra's effect activates. When it's destroyed in battle, I can summon a Level 4, 5, or 6 Galactic Being from my Graveyard at the cost of removing another one from my Graveyard with an equal level!" Kaito's Graveyard flashed, and 2 cards came out. Kaito placed one of them in his pocket, which meant it was removed from play. He placed the other one on his disk, and ferocious lion with various black markings was summoned. "Meet Galactic Being Leo Claw!" (2400/1300)

Katsura was confused. "When did 2 Level 6 monsters get in your Graveyard?"

Kaito smiled. "I discarded 2 Leos when I played Graceful Charity. And get this: If you have 3 or more monsters on the field, Leo can attack all of them!" Professor Katsura blanched. "Leo, attack all of his monsters!" Kaito declared the attack, and Leo let out a massive roar which shook the whole field and shattered the 3 monsters out of existence, delivering the finishing blow.

Kaito: 5600  
Katsura: 0

"How did my Life Points drop to zero?!" This time Katsura was extremely confused.

"Remember the Mystic Galaxy Field Spell?" Kaito smirked. "Because of it, whenever a Galactic Being destroys a monster in battle, you take damage equal to half its Attack Points!" When the duel ended, all of the holograms faded away, and the scenery went back to normal.

Up on the top level, Miyu saw what happened and was impressed.

"Wow! Did you see that? He just took out more than half of his starting Life Points in one Battle Phase! And it was such a short duel! Boy, when he changed his deck, it sure got a lot better."

Katashi was also astounded by the massive damage Kaito just inflicted. "Heh, that was pretty neat duel. It's just a shame he fails tests."

Back on the bottom floor, Kaito was having one of the greatest moments in his life.

"Yes! Awesome! I won!" Kaito raised his fist, and turned around to hear Katsura speaking to him.

"That was a great duel, Kaito. I'm sure you'll make it into East Duel Academy." The man smiled.

_"Wow! I've never been so excited in my life!" _Kaito looked down at his Star Cocoon card. _"Thanks for helping me believe in myself! I may not have played you in this duel, but I thought about you and your encouragement." _

Just then, Isamu ran up to Kaito.

"Hey, Kai! That was an awesome duel!" He high-fived Kaito.

"How did yours go?"

"It was a little hard at first, but I pulled through in the end. See, I told you you could do it! I'm certain you'll get into the academy!"

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New Cards Played:

G-Being Aquila Strike, G-Being Gemini Attack, G-Being Hydra Scale, G-Being Leo Claw, Miracle Scale, Mystic Galaxy, Spacial Summon

Galactic Being Aquila Strike  
Wind  
Level 3  
[Winged-Beast/Effect  
This card can attack your opponent's Life Points directly. You can switch this card into Defense Position at the end of the Damage Step.  
ATK/700  
DEF/1850

Galactic Being Gemini Attack  
Dark  
Level 4  
[Fiend/Effect  
Once per turn, you can discard 1 "Galactic Being" monster from your hand to the Graveyard to Special Summon 1 "Galactic Being Gemini Attack" from your hand or Deck. The monster Special Summoned by this effect cannot activate that effect during this turn. This card can attack your opponent's Life Points directly. If you do so, the battle damage from the attack becomes half the original ATK of this card.  
ATK/1200  
DEF/1800

Galactic Being Hydra Scale  
Water  
Level 3  
[Sea-Serpent/Effect  
When this card is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard as a result of battle, you can Special Summon 1 "Galactic Being" monster from your Graveyard whose Level is 4, 5, or 6.  
ATK/1000  
DEF/900

Galactic Being Leo Claw  
Level 6  
Earth  
[Beast/Effect  
When there are 3 or more monsters on your opponent's side of the field, this card can attack all of your opponent's monsters once each. If you use this effect, this card must be your first monster to attack during your Battle Phase, and only 1 other monster on your side of the field can attack this turn.  
ATK/2400  
DEF/1300

Miracle Scale  
[Equip Spell  
This card can only be equipped to "Galactic Being Hydra Scale". When the equipped monster is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, destroy one Spell or Trap Card on the field and inflict damage to your opponent's Life Points equal to half the ATK of the monster with the highest ATK on the field.

Mystic Galaxy  
[Field Spell  
Whenever a "Galactic Being" monster destroys a monster as a result of battle, inflict damage to your opponent's Life Points equal to half the ATK of the destroyed monster.

Spacial Summon  
[Normal Trap  
This card can only be activated when a monster on your side of the field is destroyed as a result of battle. Special Summon a "Galactic Being" monster from your Deck whose ATK is equal to or less than that of the destroyed monster.

Card Effect Changes: None

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Well, it's the start of Kaito's first year in Duel Academy. He may be an Osiris Red, but he's definitely ready for this year. Kaito and Isamu hear about Satoya Taro, who ends up in Osiris Red because he's a transfer student. When Taro finds out he's Kaito's roommate, he challenges him to a duel. Can Kaito defeat Taro's Batteryman deck? Next time, "Transfer Student"!


End file.
